Chapter 25 - I Offer You My Heart
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
["Speech Through Technology"]
||
…
"In the end, they drove their lance directly into the planet and ended up blowing up along with the entire race of their enemy."
"In their final moments, they admitted their love for each other with happiness even as they died."
"The end."
As soon as I finished recounting the tale, I turned to Malo. She was frozen, sitting beside me on the bed.
Her gaze was directed at the wall across from us, from what I could tell, but she just sat unmoving. Something told me that she wasn't actually staring at the wall but just taking in the events I laid before her.
After around fifteen seconds of both of us sitting unmoved, Malo suddenly raised her arms, her hands clenching and unclenching. She raised both her hands to her face and began staring into her open palms.
Quickly, Malo turned her entire body in my direction, stood up, and grabbed me by my shoulders. Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out.
"What, what's wrong—?!" Before I could finish speaking, she began shaking me back and forth as if asking for more.
"That's the end! I've got nothing more!!" My answer must have been the one she didn't want to hear as she picked me up by my shoulders and continued shaking me.
"Wait… I'm not—" My words were hard to get out as I was pulled back and forth, repeatedly and rapidly. "I'm not the creator of this story! I can't change the ending!"
Malo abruptly stopped shaking me, her entire body stilling as if she were stuck in time.
"If it makes you feel any better, they end up reincarnating on the same planet in the future and end up meeting each other again as kids."
Malo began gently putting me down, and when my feet touched the ground, I saw her shoulders slouch a bit.
"Don't be sad," I said as I shrugged. "I felt the same way when I saw the ending."
Grabbing my phone, I went to the banking app. I wasn't signed in and began internally freaking out as I realized my password and username might not work.
Entering my account details, I waited as I got a loading screen. The few seconds felt like minutes as my heart seemed to stop.
"Damn," I whispered as I realized I got into my account. "Sharing the same password is crazy."
Opening the envelope with the check inside, I scanned it with my phone. Instead of having to travel outside into the unknown to find a bank, I could stay home and do it. Technology truly was amazing.
My bank account balance was now at 10,432 dollars. Now, with the meager amount of money in my account, I could—
"10,432 DOLLARS?!" I did the hardest double-take of my life. I even ended up rubbing my eyes multiple times and refreshing the app to check if it was a mistake.
At my outburst, Malo came out of nowhere and appeared beside me, both of us staring at the phone.
I felt my knees grow weak. Falling to the ground, I placed my phone on the carpet, staring down at the account balance.
"I fell down to my knees when the lord came," I whispered. "This is what I needed…"
With this amount of money, I didn't have to work paycheck to paycheck trying to defend my life and feed myself.
Freezing in place, I realized it all made sense. How the fuck was there food in the fridge when the supposed caretaker hadn't been around for weeks?
That motherfucker, the original Dante, was holding out on me!
Quickly jumping up and running to my computer, I typed up Amazon and began trying to sign into my account.
'Wait… this is my mother's account.' I paused as I looked at the account details. 'It even still has the Prime subscription on.'
I quickly began searching for stuff to buy, intending to take full advantage of next-day shipping.
I bought a Ring Battery Doorbell for
$99.99, Coleman Waterproof Matches (4 Pack) for $6.99, A book on How to Trap, Skin & Tan Hides of Small Game Mammals: Complete Beginner's Guide to Humane Trapping, Tanning Hides, Making Leather, Selling Pelts for $13.55,
A U.S. Army Guide to Boobytraps for $12.04, a U.S. Army Guerrilla Warfare Handbook for $9.99, a U.S. Army Special Forces Guide to Unconventional Warfare: Devices and Techniques for Incendiaries for $12.04, 1/8" wire cable, 100ft Wire Rope Metal Cable With Loop Sleeve And Steel Thimble for $21.99,
An Archery 60" Takedown Hunting Recurve Bow and Arrow Set for Adult Longbow Kit for $152.99, 12 Pack, 2 oz Small Clear Glass Bottles w/ Lid & 3 Stainless Steel Funnels - 60ml for $14.99, 10.2 inches Throwing Spear (Knife), 0.236 inches Thick Full-Tang Throwing Set, with Nylon Sheath for Competition and Recreation - 6 Pack for $39.99,
Perfect Point RC-1793B Throwing Knife Set with Three Knives for $7.99, and finally, I went to a different website and bought White Deer Extreme Duty XXL Bowie, 12" D2 Blade, Wood Handle, Sheath - D2S-401 for $91.99.
Everything came up to $484.54 without taxes. With taxes, the total price was $516.01.
Taking a breath after spending all that money, I moved away from my computer. I stood in the center of my room to give myself the most space to work with.
Turning toward Malo, who was now staring at me while in a crouched position, I held my hand out. I saw her tail sway once as only her head was turned in my direction, leaving the rest of her body facing away from me.
"Malo, while we haven't known each other for long, I wanted to say this for a while now," I spoke while still having my arm outstretched, my palm facing the ceiling.
Malo stood from her crouched position, making her way over to me and only stopping in front of my outstretched hand. I don't think I'd ever get used to the height difference.
"Malo!" Working up the courage and trying to make sure I wasn't misunderstood, I spoke with seriousness. "I offer you my heart!"
I stood there with my hand outstretched, silence being my only companion.
Only to have Malo tilt her head after a few seconds of awkwardness.
"Sorry, I must have worded that wrong—you must be confused," I said as I began closing my open hand but decided to hold it out. "What I was trying to say is, for some reason, I can't control myself."
"But when it comes to you, you always break me out of my illogical, blood-lusted moments. I know sometime in the future, I'll probably attack someone innocent in my craze.
That's why I want you to be my heart. If I ever start losing it in the future, I want you to bring me back. I want you to always be by my side; I want you to know that as my heart, I'll cherish you forever.
I don't know how I came to have your app downloaded on my phone, but what I did know was that this world was not originally home to both of us. But somehow, the only two outsiders were the first to meet.
I'll be your body, so, Malo, will you be my heart?" While I didn't show it on the outside, on the inside, my heart was beating wildly.
It had been ten whole seconds since I finished speaking, but Malo hadn't responded in any way. I was beginning to think I came off too confessional.
If Malo declined, then I might as well be a blood-crazed maniac just waiting to crash out. And I hated fighting illogically.
Slowly, Malo stopped tilting her head. Her left hand slowly snaked up to take my outstretched right.
Right as she was about to brush hands with me, her left hand began shaking, and she pulled back slightly.
Even though I was confused, I didn't let it show on my face. What was it that was causing her to be hesitant? Fear? She shouldn't be afraid of me at all, though.
Stopping myself from continuing to look upward at her eyes, I focused on her hand, and that's when I noticed it.
My eyes widened a bit as I saw her tail rapidly going back and forth as if she couldn't control it. Even though her tail was moving around at high speed, her body stayed frozen despite the occasional twitch of motion from her hand.
It was similar to how dogs react when their owner returns from the military. The only difference is that Malo wasn't having her entire lower half shaking back and forth with it.
She wasn't afraid; she was probably halfway to passing out! At least the closest she could be. This must have been something she didn't even dream of—couldn't even fantasize about, as it was probably too delusional to her own mind.
Refocusing on her hand, I watched as she slowly but surely touched my middle finger with her slightly clawed middle finger.
Her fingers softly slid over mine as if I were as fragile as cold butter. Her middle finger touched my palm, and her hand continued sliding forward.
When her palm was fully over mine, I slowly began to turn my hand. Pushing our hands against each other, I managed to make us go from parallel to the ground to parallel to the wall.
Still softly pressing our hands, I began to spread my fingers slowly. This caused Malo, whose hand was pressed against mine, to also spread her fingers.
The second our hands spread out to the maximum, I slipped my fingers into the gaps of hers. Quickly closing my palm around hers, I stared into her eyes with a mischievous smirk.
Her fingers were still widely spread and not closed, but slowly, going from pinky and ending with her thumb, her hand firmly held mine.
"So—?!"
I didn't get to finish my words as I was tackled to the ground. Malo's right hand grabbed the back of my head, so even as we hit the ground, I felt nothing from it.
Her body was being firmly pressed against mine, and my eyes widened.
'Definitely female!' I thought as my eyes widened.
Malo quickly began rubbing the side of her snout against my cheek, her body feeling semi-suffocating against mine, but I just ignored it.
Her tail slapped over and over against my right foot hard as I accepted that this was my life.
I internally thanked myself for making sure to take a shower to get all that eldritch blood off me before I told Malo the story.
I suddenly felt the weight of all I'd been through; the past day hit me like a train. My eyes grew heavy as tiredness overtook me.
Even as my eyes closed, Malo continued holding onto my hand, not letting go at all as she continued to rub against me.
This was probably the closest thing I got to a blanket since I got here. My logical mind would never allow me to be wrapped in a blanket that would allow some creature to hold me in it.
'You know what? Tomorrow, I should do something nice.' I thought as I fell asleep.
…
Waking up, I noticed that my right hand was still tightly interlocked with Malo's left. Rubbing my eyes, I just continued softly breathing.
I enjoyed the feeling of Malo's body against mine for that entire minute before I realized something.
Something had arisen, and it wasn't the summons of a monarch! Staring into space as I thought of the calmest, most peaceful place, having a great time with my family in my old world, I felt the arisen warrior slowly calm down.
For a while after that, I lay there. Enjoying the peace that I got, my eyes slowly closed—and then I remembered how fucked my world is and decided to keep one eye slightly open to watch my open room door.
It had actually been a while since I'd "pleasured" myself. I didn't feel the same creeping urge even after I got a hard-on.
It probably had something to do with this body. Technically, it was new. New, as in "I was born just today."
Meaning that if I abide by Christian standards, then I'd never feel the heavy impulses of lust that most would. Thank God for that.
I couldn't imagine trying to get the job done, only for a cryptid or some eldritch creature to be reflected on the computer screen right behind me after the video ended.
'Theoretically, if I were to do it, it should feel as if I've never done it before. That would prove that this body was created when I "spawned" into this world instead of me and the original Dante swapping bodies.
But if that's the case, do I have the same powers that the original would have, or am I a new being that has a whole different set of powers?' I couldn't answer the thought as I didn't seem to have any powers besides my different body.
"Hah." Exhaling, I put my free hand on Malo's back. "It's time to get up. We have stuff to do today."
As I said it, I rubbed Malo's back. Her fur was actually pretty nice. The look and feel were almost complete opposites.
Slowly, Malo's head rose from beside my own. Instead of standing up, she basically straddled my waist.
While still holding my hand, her torso was stuck outward while her hips were pulled back. The classic dog type of stretch.
I took in the sight as I noticed the ratio from hip to waist seemed to shine through perfectly at that moment. Even with the fur, I could somehow just tell.
It was a neuron-activating sight.
'Isn't this kind of weird, though? I'm sure as hell not a furry, but at the same time, I feel as though I'm "seeing" more of Malo than I was before. It's as if I'm seeing more of her "passively" than "actively."' I thought as I began looking Malo in the eyes and realized even though she didn't have pupils, I could tell she also seemed to be looking more at me "passively."
So, whatever was affecting me was also hitting her. Was this the power of an enemy stand user?!
"So, I was thinking that we should go somewhere while we wait for what I ordered to come. Are you game?" I said as I pushed aside a strand of hair covering my eyes.
Malo quickly gave a nod.
"Uh," I stagnated a bit as five seconds went by with no movement from either of us. "You're going to have to let go of my hand first."
Malo let go of my hand, and I interlocked both my hands, turned my wrist, and cracked most of my fingers. My hand wasn't numb at all, but it was a little stiff.
Sitting up—"You're going to have to get off me too. I can't move you." Malo got up quickly, and that allowed me to stand.
'Alright, I need a fit that allows me to blend in and looks stylish.' I said to myself internally as I went to brush my teeth.
…
Wearing a black hoodie, black shirt, black cargo pants, and black shoes, I was ready to exit my house.
There were two reasons I was leaving: one being that if I were to stay stationary too long, then a cryptid might try to learn my patterns, and two because Malo needed to be brought to the forefront.
While walking down the street, I made sure to keep Malo by my side instead of allowing her to trail behind me.
My destination was a park, nothing too big and nothing too small. With lampposts lighting my way, I looked around the street, making sure no creature was actively trying me.
Upon reaching the park, I noticed not only had the way here become increasingly devoid of people, but no one was there. If it wasn't for the insects, I would've believed I was put in some sort of illusion or domain.
Finding a bench nowhere close to any trees or areas that would break the line of sight, I sat down.
I made sure I was continuously looking around like a deer in the forest while maintaining my deeper thoughts.
'The main reason I dressed in all black was to better blend into the darkness in case I was seen. I made sure to take my knives with me, and while the weekdays pass, I need to make sure to read those manuals.' I thought as I looked around myself.
'My packages weren't outside my door when I left the house, and waiting for them to get there might give a creature a chance to get at me while I'm opening the door in expectation of a package.
My best bet is to get the resources I ordered, defend my house, and become unbelievably good at never letting them know my next move.' As I was in deep thought, the ambiance of the insects and birds had noticeably disappeared.
Slowly but calmly dragging my eyes around as I turned my head, I used the precious seconds of pretending not to notice to get a good look at my stalker.
It was a humanoid, meaning my techniques would be more effective than on a beast, and with Malo—
Turning to my left while a calculating smile grew on my face, I saw—"Malo?!"
She wasn't there on the bench next to me!
Thankfully, she seemed to be messing with a flower of some type not too far behind the bench.
Getting off the bench, I walked over to the crouched Malo. Crouching beside her, she looked to be messing—or trying to mess with—a flower.
The flower hadn't yet bloomed. It was kind of sickly looking and had this brown vine wrapped around it.
Malo's fingers passed through the flower over and over as she tried to touch it.
*Sigh*
Quickly looking around to make sure I wasn't being ambushed, I turned my full attention to Malo. Grabbing her wrists, causing her to stop, I calmly and slowly placed the back of my palm onto hers.
"Try now," I said as she slowly began moving both her hand and mine.
Pushing our hands, my hand came into contact with the flower. The resistance must have transferred to her because I touched the flower, and she stopped.
She held my hands delicately together, causing my hands to press softly against the flower from both sides.
"This may not be the best," I turned my head to Malo as I spoke but noticed that she was already looking at me. "But does this count?"
After a few seconds of waiting, Malo nodded.
"Alright, let's get out of here then," I said as I quickly stood up. "I'm feeling a bit fatigued. Could be my anxiousness, though."
Blinking, Malo appeared beside me, already standing up. Before I started walking, there was something I wanted to know.
"How many creatures are looking at me right now?" I whispered to Malo.
Blinking rapidly to ensure she could teleport around as fast as possible, Malo reappeared before me after five seconds.
Looking to Malo for an answer, she held up three fingers. I grimaced as I realized that I had only seen one of three.
"How many creatures are around here?"
Malo's held-up fingers went from three to five.
At that moment, I think I realized how fucked this world was. If this was an empty park, and five creatures were hiding in it, then what about the rest of the world?
Knowing my limit, especially as someone who used to be of a darker skin tone, I knew it was time for me to leave.
Waving Malo to walk with me, I quickly yet calmly left the park. In a world with no sun, lampposts and other types of lighting are everywhere.
It was honestly a little unsettling at first seeing how the darkness appeared in the gaps of the lamppost's light.
As I was about to cross the street, I turned my head to look around for cars. However, what caught my attention to the right of me wasn't a car.
Underneath the light of a lamppost, a pure white dove was floating—Hovering?
It gave me this creepy feeling. The dove was flapping its wings underneath the lamppost's light but didn't seem to be going anywhere.
And by not going anywhere, I meant it. It was stuck at the same height, defying the physics of how birds fly, and as I slowly tried to make sense of it, I realized that it didn't make any sense.
Suddenly, Malo's fingers came up not too far away from my face. She held up three clawed fingers. Slowly, three held-up fingers became four.
That was all I needed as confirmation to mind my fucking business and continue on my way away from whatever that was.
Hopefully, the things I ordered were at my door. If they weren't, then I'll probably have to look out for some cryptid weirdos who like stealing items.
'Actually, I may just use the backup plan. It's better than sitting in the house waiting for an ambush.' I thought as I grabbed Malo's hand.
I don't think she'll ever get used to having a body. Well, technically, she and I were only around two weeks old. She'll probably get used to it eventually.
…
In an empty park, a sudden change was taking place. An unbloomed flower, wrapped in another plant's roots, began to show some changes.
The brown tangle of roots around the flower began to tremble and break apart. As it fell to the ground, the yellow flower began to bloom.
Finally free from the shackles of that thing, it could bloom to its maximum capacity.
However, from the ground, a singular red root began to come out. The root began spreading over the ground rapidly, splitting into different directions.
One of the parts raised itself off the ground and started standing upright like a blooming flower. From that, a small bulb of brownish material grew from the lifted part of the roots.
A process that should have taken months or years seemed to be happening in seconds as the brownish bulb grew and grew.
Upon reaching a certain size, it broke from the root and fell to the ground. Quickly, the bulb opened up and revealed that it wasn't a fruit or any type of vegetable.
Its body was blood red, it stood on four legs, and it seemed to have a malnourished-looking humanoid structure.
The skeletal structure of its body was so visible due to its malnourished look that one could mistake it for not having any internal muscle structure. Even its fingers looked as if they were bones wrapped in red skin.
The face of the creature had no nose yet looked strangely reminiscent of a human. And with its little body, it quickly turned and ran on its four legs into the depths of the park, trying to find a forest.